Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire ruled out Game 1 & 2

The New York Knicks have ruled forward Amare Stoudemire out
for the first two games of their second-round series against the Indiana
Pacers, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson said that he has targeted Game 3
of the series as the date for Stoudemire’s return. Woodson added that
Stoudemire will scrimmage against his teammates on Thursday, and if all goes
well he’ll suit up for Saturday’s Game 3 matchup with the Pacers.

"If he feels fine after Friday, then I think we will
play him Saturday," Woodson said.

In his place, the Knicks have mostly used veteran forward
Kenyon Martin. Considering how well Martin has performed over the past two
months, Stoudemire’s return isn’t expected to cut into his minutes too much.
Instead, it will likely mean a decrease in time for Steve Novak, who’s been
hampered by injury anyway.